Cancer is a devastating disease with a high mortality rate that can affect nearly any organ in the body. Although treatment options exist for certain cancers, these options are limited in terms of efficacy, safety, and applicability to a wide range of cancer types. Thus, there is a need for more effective, safe, and widely-applicable cancer treatments. There is also a need for methods of preventing cancer.
Three-dimensional polymer-containing devices, such as scaffold matrices, have been used for a number of applications, including tissue regeneration/repair and cell transplantation. For example, porous and biodegradable polymer scaffolds have been utilized as a structural supporting matrix or as a cell adhesive substrate for cell-based tissue engineering. However, a major side effect of the surgical implantation of three dimensional scaffolds is the trauma created by physicians while treating patient illness. In particular, current technologies for the surgical implantation of three dimensional scaffolds involve incisions that lead to patient pain, bleeding, and bruising. As such, there is a pressing need in the art to develop less invasive structured polymer-containing devices.
This invention addresses these needs.